Do You Have the Right to Flip Off a Cop? (Yes You Do!)

This is an article from Time Magazine, very informative on where your right to free speech starts, and ends.

Here's a tidbit:

[size-5]warning - profanity[size]

Hackbart, 34, was looking for a parking space on busy Murray Avenue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood on April 10, 2006. Spotting one, he
attempted to back into it, but the driver of the car behind him refused to back up and give him sufficient room. Hackbart responded in the classic
way. "I stuck my hand out the window and gave him the finger to say 'Hey, jerk, thanks,' " says Hackbart. "That's all I was trying to say —
'Thanks, thanks a lot.' "

At that moment, a voice rang out telling Hackbart not to make the rude gesture in public. "So I was like, How dare that person tell me? They
obviously didn't see what happened. Who are they to tell me what to say?" he says. "So I flipped that person off. And then I looked, and it was a
city of Pittsburgh cop in his car right next to me."

That turned out to be police sergeant Brian Elledge, who happened to be passing in the other direction in his cruiser. Elledge whipped around and
pulled Hackbart over, citing him under the state's disorderly-conduct law, which bans obscene language and gestures. And here's where the problem
lies, says state American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) legal director Witold (Vic) Walczak: the middle finger and equivalent swear words are not
legally obscene. In fact, courts have consistently ruled that foul language is a constitutionally protected form of expression. A famous 1971 Supreme
Court case upheld the right of a young man to enter the Los Angeles County Court House wearing a jacket emblazoned with the words [snip]."

1b.) Profanity: You will not use profanity in our forums, and will neither post with language or content that is obscene, sexually oriented,
or sexually suggestive nor link to sites that contain such content. You will also not use common alternative spellings or net-speak alternative for
profane words.

It was a mistake on the drivers fault,one that I am sure as soon as he looked over grabbed his head with that wth did I just do look on his face.
Its ok to hate the establishment...you just can't hate the people doing their jobs because they are people too like you and me.
Theres no reason for it really.

It kind of reminds me of when I was in the military. The drill sgts aren't supposed to hit or yell at you etc. But they do - and you won't do
anything about it either. Why?

Because while you may be right on the particular issue, it will be going to the top of your record and everyone is going to know you did that. What
is important about that is that from that point on, they will be on you for every little thing they can.

As that is how the real world works. So sure, go ahead and flip the cop off. But I'll bet he'll remember you and his buddies will remember you,
and you had better not even speed a few miles over the limit and so forth.

And I dunno about you, but I've never interpreted the bird as a sign of violence really. More a sign of ignorance.

~Keeper

Exactly,so why give the bird anyways.
Why not show some class.You never know how bad his day is going either and hes a person like you and me.
Why bother even giving the finger in the first place.
His job is his job and we all have bad days including the driver.
Yes a sign of ignorance on both parts....life is life and we are all human and make mistakes.

You know there is a very nice youtube video that shows just what will happen if you flip off a cop.

You should not do it.

As often as you hear stories about wrongful tazering and wrongful beatings what do you think would happen if you flipped off the wrong cop... Well as
the kid in the youtube video learned... It was a mistake that resulted in severe bodily injury.

I would link it but that is against the ATS rules. So dont anyone else link it either. Just to say the alleged freespeech we have in the free world is
not the same as the speech we enjoy here. So don't flip off cops no matter how much they deserve it...

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